Welcome to Dad is Fire. Usually, the about me section of a blog is to tell you who I am and to talk about myself. This blog isn’t so much about who I am, as it is what I am. So what am I? I am someone who was raised by a dad who treated…
You’ve decided you want to be a landlord. Great! Now, how do you decide what rent to charge? Determine market value The easiest way to determine what rent to charge is to observe the market. Look at sites like zillow. Also, compare your house to other comparable houses on sites like Facebook, or calling landlords…
Please teach your kid personal finance. The school system barely does. I have not dissected anything since high school. I have not used calculus. Trigonometry and Geometry have added no value to anything in my life. But I have borrowed money, saved money, made money, spent money, and invested money. We all do these things…
It’s hard to know how much house you can afford. Actually it’s easy to know how much house you can afford. It’s hard to know how much house you should afford. The McDonald’s Principal When I bought my first house, I developed The McDonald’s Principal. It was simple, clever, and powerful. It was my way…
Deciding when to evict a tenant is tough. Let’s get a disclaimer out of the way. I am not an attorney. Nothing said in this post should be interpreted as legal advice. Speak to an attorney. Do not take anything said in this post as legal guidance, at all. To any renters/tenants that stumbled across…
This was originally published 10/12/2021. Last month, I wrote that we were almost ready to retire. In the next week, I plan to formally announce my retirement to my employer. I have started to tell a few close people at work. The reactions are consistent. Let’s just say there won’t be a retirement party. Yesterday,…
Mortgage rates are always a hot topic in the news. Whether they are up or down they are newsworthy. There is a way to save on your mortgage and get a better great rate, regardless of whether rates are rising or falling. Mortgage points have always been a source of confusion, and fear for many…
A few week’s back I mentioned that I was just about to announce my retirement. I have since given my notice at work. After 22 years in Financial Services, one year as a mortgage broker, and one year as a technical writer the end is in sight. This upcoming Friday is my last day. I’ve…
What mortgage term should I have for my rental house? Seek out a mortgage length that you can afford the monthly payment when the house is vacant, but not so long that it takes a half of a lifetime to pay off. If you can’t do that, than you are buying too expensive of a…
Should you max out your 401k? It’s an intimidating idea. Before jumping into why you should max out your 401k, let’s step back. If you are under 50, you are allowed to contribute up to $22,500 to your 401k. This does not include employer contributions. It is also the 2023 limit. There are other nuances…
How much do you need to retire early is just a math problem. It’s a matter of understanding how much do/will you spend? How much income do you need to cover those expenses. You do not need a Financial Advisor or Financial Planner to solve this math problem. You just need to understand the basics…
Oh no, I am 27 years old and being sued! In 2007 I bought a house. It was one that was outside of my niche. My niche was 3 3-bedroom1 bath houses without a basement that I would be willing to live in if I ran into financial issues. It checked the first few boxes,…
This blog is about Financial Independence Retire Early. It’s also about trying to be a good dad. The best way to be a good dad is to be present. To care. To be a good role model. This video by Steve Burns of Blues Clues sums these traits up. I don’t have much more editorial…
Tenants tend to think every landlord is a bad landlord. Landlords deserve and earned this stereotype over the years. I wanted to be a better landlord. That was part of the plan. I see renting to people as a partnership. The tenant is agreeing to pay me money in exchange for a comfortable home for…
Five years ago when my wife was pregnant with our first kid I thought long and hard about how to be a good dad. I thought about my dad’s style. That gave me framework for what not to do. Then I started thinking about what matters and what I would have wanted. Actually I thought…
We are almost ready to retire early. We have Financial Independence. My wife is a stay at home mom with our three kids. We have assets. We just haven’t figure out what to do next. The friends that are aware that we will retire soon ask me what they think to be a hard question….